The Rise of Flexible Work: Adapting to the “New Norm”

COVID-19 came out of nowhere, and with that, many things in our lives had to change instantly. Education, work, time with loved ones, and your free time were significantly impacted by transitioning these experiences online, creating different options for both work and play.

With this major life change, many companies settled on flexible and remote work schedules that allowed people to work more efficiently while also trying to juggle other responsibilities that came up while our lives existed only at home. Flexible work is work that can be done through a hybrid of in-office and out-of-office work hours or different time agreements.

With Zoom meetings, Windows Teams chats, and Slack boards, we all eventually found a way to keep the world spinning. Some of these practices have remained a staple in lots of businesses and schools – making online courses more accessible and allowing everyone to have access to live meetings from anywhere in the world. While remote and flexible work schedules weren’t unknown to the public in the past, only about 30% of employees had ever worked remotely. The concept didn’t seem accessible or practical to most companies. Many employers didn’t allow it, or it was concluded that collaboration was more difficult. But in 2020, we all saw very quickly that everyone had figured out how to clock in work from anywhere and everywhere, opening more doors to everyone.

From 9 to 5 to flexibility

Since it has now been accepted as possible, the demand for flexible work has increased. Younger employees have less company loyalty and switch roles more quickly than their predecessors, but this is primarily due to their care for work/life balance and the opportunities their company provides. Flexible work is just one of the factors this demographic considers. Today, about 50% of workers are millennials and Gen Z, which puts more significant pressure on companies to adjust to a “new norm” and fulfil these expectations. According to Forbes, employees that opt for flexible and remote work end up as more satisfied employees who are more efficient, loyal and have greater job satisfaction, also “Employees who benefit from flexible working arrangements work more hours and get more done”. We know that everyone wants to feel happy in their role, and flexible work aids in this while making employees more productive.

However, flexible work can also make administrative tasks more difficult. When everyone worked together in person, you’d see when people would come in and leave. Collaborative projects were in person, and dividing and conquering work was a breeze. It was easy to see and experience work being done in your place of employment. But since people are now looking for opportunities that allow for these flexible hours with the ability to work anywhere, keeping track of when and where everyone’s working can become an HR nightmare. The most intuitive answer here is to use a cloud-based Time and Attendance software solution. Using TimeMoto’s Cloud-based solution makes your life easier regarding employee time management. Knowing who is clocked in and when, providing geolocation & geofencing for those working remotely, and knowing exactly when they clock in and out. With a mobile app, the ability to plan shifts, and generate reports, TimeMoto covers your most important time and attendance needs.

Make life easier for your business and your employees

Using any of our Cloud Plans, you get the options for how in-depth you want your Time and Attendance solution. Whether you have all your employees working remotely or just a few that come and go as they need, using the TimeMoto mobile app makes it easy to understand if an employee is working at that moment and where they are working from. No need to send messages back and forth to know where they are. This makes life easier for your business and for your employees.

To get started on TimeMoto’s time and attendance solution, check out our Cloud Plans and try the free 30 days of our most advanced Plus Plan. If you need more guidance on what TimeMoto can do for you, read our short guide that quickly walks you through our flexible solution.